Pat Finnegan, who owns the preserve, said he and others had planned an event at which people could hunt hogs at the shooting range. He said he was hoping to call attention to low hog prices.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) notified local and state authorities of the plan, and Finnegan said Meeker County Sheriff Mike Hirman told him that it is illegal to hunt domestic animals.

So organizers held a slaughtering operation instead, Finnegan said, selling the slaughtered hogs for $100 each.
It wasn't immediately clear how the hogs were killed, but Julie Derby of Minneapolis went to the site as an observer for those concerned about the hogs. She said those involved told her that hogs would be shot at close range rather than hunted.

Derby said she couldn't estimate how many hogs were there, but she said they appeared to be market-sized. Sheriff Mike Hirman said a deputy went by Shamrock several times and saw few people there and nothing that warranted checking out.

Finnegan said earlier that he originally billed the event as a ``hog hunt'' and was quoted in Outdoor News as saying he planned to release the hogs on the preserve and allow participants to shoot them. But he said Friday night that he was only trying to get attention and never intended to carry out a ``hunt.''

Finnegan, who couldn't be reached for comment Saturday, said Friday that the hogs would be confined, shot and butchered ``in a humane way.''